FOR OR IN?

Just a few days until Thanksgiving Day 2024, but Listen, the Spirit-filled Christian is a THANKFUL follower of Jesus everyday! The Apostle Paul gave this admonition, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is sin, but be filled with God's Spirit, speaking. . .in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving THANKS ALWAYS IN EVERYTHING to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20)

So much has been written about praise and thanksgiving; the book shelves are lined with these writings. You've heard sermons and teachings about it often. This topic seems to be predominantly discussed among Christians when there is adversity, challenging situations, pain, hurt or relentless problems. Sometimes, I find the result confusing or frustrating. We can end up feeling guilty for failing in the area of giving praise and thanksgiving. Yes, giving praise and thanksgiving to God helps us as believers to step over life's obstacles to see the Big Picture of God's presence, love, grace, plan or purpose and His glory! However, we must understand that praise is for God and His glory primarily and for our good and encouragement secondarily!

Regarding our National Day of Thanksgiving, though there are attempts these days to re-write history, we know that in 1621, the Plymouth Colonists from England and the Native American Wampanoag People shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged as the first Thanksgiving Celebration in the colonies. It was a time of thankfulness to God for His blessings and provisions and for life itself, in spite of the fact those colonists had endured hardships, disease, and starvation losing half of their original number. For more than 200 years, days of thanksgiving were held throughout individual colonies and states in the United States. Then, in 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a National Thanksgiving Day to be held each November. It was his call to the citizenry to "give thanks to Almighty God"! We still celebrate this day!

Let's ponder this truth. For Christians, who truly love and serve God, Thanksgiving is much more than a one-day observance; it is a life-style of worship, praise, thanksgiving and celebration to honor God for WHO HE IS, for WHAT HE HAS DONE and for WHAT HE CONTINUES TO DO! Again, the Apostle Paul addresses us with this command, "Rejoice always, Pray without ceasing, Give Thanks in ALL circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thessalonians 5:16-18) If you wonder what God's will is for you, here it is in a nutshell:

• Constant Joy (verse 16)

• Ceaseless Prayer (verse 17)

• Boundless Thanksgiving (verse 18)

Is it possible for us to live life with these characteristics? The answer is a resounding YES, otherwise we wouldn't be commanded to in God's Word! What God calls or commands us to do, He equips us to do! If His Word says it, He will provide the resources to us in order to obey it! Since this is "the will of God IN CHRIST JESUS for you", He can and will equip us to be obedient to His Word! Time for our spiritual check-up! Can we honestly say we live in constant joy, ceaseless prayer and boundless thanksgiving? If not, why not? We can and must in Christ Jesus!

Let's give serious consideration to what this Scripture passage actually says. First, we have God's command to praise Him! "Give thanks!" God has not invited us to give thanks or to praise Him; He has Commanded it! (I Thessalonians 5:18) Giving thanks to God involves Praising God! "Praise the LORD. Praise the LORD from the heavens; praise Him in the heights above." (Psalm 148:1) The word "give" here is (a brief Greek language lesson - New Testament original language) in the Active Voice, Present Tense and Imperative Mood. It means I am commanded to give thanks (mood); that I am now and continuing to give thanks (present tense) and I am performing this action myself (active voice) because I make the choice to give thanks. (Ephesians 5:20)

Second, we see the Person praised! We never, ever render praise to another human being. We may honor them, commend them, congratulate them, bless them, encourage them, and recognize them in high esteem. But PRAISE IS EXCLUSIVELY FOR GOD! ". . .giving thanks . . .to God the Father. . . ." (Ephesians 5:20) "We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds." (Psalm 75:1) "Ascribe (give praise) to the LORD, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the LORD glory and strength. Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name; worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness." (Psalm 29:1-2) "Praise the LORD. . .Praise Him all His angels; praise Him all His hosts! Praise Him, sun and moon, praise Him all you shining stars! Praise Him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the LORD!" (Psalm 148:1-5) "Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name ALONE is exalted; His majesty is above earth and heaven." (Psalm 148:13) Since all these created things praise God, don't you think that WE who have been redeemed and given eternal life should join with all of them in praising God and giving Him our sincere THANKS?

So many times, we question God; we doubt His love, grace and work in our lives; we doubt His goodness, His plans and purposes, His will, His attributes, and we can even second-guess ourselves, our decisions and, at times, we wonder about the reality of our own salvation and relationship with Jesus. I want to say, and so I will say it, these doubts, questions and uncertainties ALL come from satan; they are not from God! We sometimes even complain and criticize His actions in our lives and in the world in general, and these rise up against God, and He knows it all! Yet, He stands on alert to help and strengthen us in our journey With and In Him!

Isn't it time for us to purposefully make the choice to praise God and give Him our genuine thanksgiving ALL THE TIME, even in spite of our adverse circumstances? When Jesus' disciples and crowds were praising Him, the Pharisees told His followers to "shut up". Jesus replied, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out" in praise. (Luke 19:38-40) Let us not be like those Pharisees! "For what thanksgiving can we return to God. . . ?" (I Thessalonians 3:9) "We give thanks to God. . . ." (I Thessalonians 1:2) "And we also thank God constantly. . . ." (I Thessalonians 2:13)

Third, this passage of Scripture gives us the Reason for Praise and Thanksgiving! "Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." (I Thessalonians 5:18) Here is the truth of this Scripture: it is abundantly clear! While we are NOT called or commanded to thank God FOR EVERYTHING that happens, we ARE commanded to sincerely thank Him IN EVERYTHING that happens! We are to praise Him in the midst of everything that takes place in and around our lives. We are to be thankful that in every situation we encounter, God is faithful! He pours into us His sustaining grace, abiding love, limitless comfort and His peace!

• We praise Him in all things because of the opportunity to again know the reality of His sustaining grace.

• We are thankful that God continues to work all things out for our good so that we become more and more like Jesus. (Romans 8:28-29)

• We are filled with praise and gratitude that through everything God teaches us to depend solely on Him and His Divine Word!

• We praise and thank God that His mercy, love, peace and joy abound and that in adversity, these blessings meet the deepest needs of our heart.

• We give praise and thanksgiving that once again our sphere of influence (the people around us), through our lives, see, hear and believe our witness of the limitless power of God in a life fully committed to Jesus Christ.

• We are thankful and we praise the Lord that our faith has the opportunity to expand, enlarge and grow into maturity - that God has indeed "strengthened us by His Spirit in the inner man." (Ephesians 3:16)

Fourth, we note the Results of Thanksgiving!

• Praise Causes Constant Rejoicing. (I Thessalonians 5:18) Thanksgiving in joy is related to the word "eucharist" from which we celebrate the Eucharist, Holy Communion or The Lord's Supper. So, the idea here is to live in the same spirit as is evident and present within us as when we partake of the bread and juice in thanksgiving and worship for Jesus' broken body and shed blood for our sins to give us eternal life! What would happen in our heart and mind if we lived every day and in every circumstance with the same purpose and spirit of thanksgiving that we have when we celebrate the Holy Sacrament of the the Lord's Supper?

• Praise Makes Prayer A Blessing! "Pray without ceasing." (I Thessalonians 5:17) Do we truly enjoy our time of prayer and fellowship with God? For many, prayer is either neglected or is a burden and duty. When that is the case, we need a fresh dose of praise and thanksgiving, that breathes life and vitality into our prayer life!

• Praise and Thanksgiving Removes Bitterness! "See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone." (I Thessalonians 5:15)

• Praise Affirms and Gives New Life to the Workings of God's Holy Spirit! We are thankful that God is working within us to accomplish His will, plan and purposes; that He has not left us to work things out by ourselves without His help and blessings. (I Thessaalonians 5:19)

• Praise Fosters Joyful Living! "Making melody in your heart. . .while in the process of giving thanks. . . ." (Ephesians 5:19-20)

• Praise Ruins the Devil's Plan! God makes (actually causes) all things work for the good of those who love God.. . . ." (Romans 8:28) What the devil means for evil in our lives, God purposefully turns them totally around and uses them for our good to make us more like His Son, Jesus! (Romans 8:29) Don't you love it when the devil's plan to steal, kill and destroy" (John 10:10) is ruined and he suffers defeat?

• Thanksgiving is Paramount and Foremost in that God is Glorified in it! "I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with Thanksgiving." (Psalm 69:30)

Mary Lou Retton became "America's Sweetheart" at age 16, winning a gold metal at the 1984 Olympics. She later wrote a book about how gymnastics training helps her conquer fear. In 1997, when Retton was pregnant with her second daughter, she was rushed to the hospital for an emergency C-section. The baby, born pre-maturely was put into an incubator. Retton and her husband were frightened as never before. "I tried to channel that fear into something positive, rather than let it paralyze me", said Retton. "My coach always taught me not to get caught up in the emotion of the moment, but to keep my eyes on the bigger picture. When I did that I realized I'd not given in to fear before and I wasn't about to start now. I began to thank God for His Presence, His Love and His Concern for me and our baby girl. I thanked Him that in this severe trial, He was in it with us! Knowing that our precious McKenna was going to need a resilient mother because of all she was going through just to survive, we thanked God for her life and that she was still alive! After eight days of literal agony, the doctors told us that McKenna was going to be alright!" As Retton recalls, "now she was the bigger picture - this tiny miracle from God I was finally holding in my arms. My smile now comes from deep within!"

Let's Praise God and give Him Thanks; Rejoice in Him and let our gratitude come from deep within!